ISTANBUL

Türkiye on Wednesday called for “punitive and coercive measures” against Israel’s actions that completely disregard international law. 

“It is imperative that the necessary punitive and coercive measures be taken against these actions by Israel in complete defiance of international law,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, in response to Israel’s latest operation in the West Bank.

The statement also condemned Israel’s “illegal operation” and Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s remarks on extending practices from Gaza to the West Bank.

"We strongly condemn the illegal operation launched by Israel in the West Bank and the statement by the Israeli Foreign Minister that they will extend the practices in Gaza to the West Bank,” it said.

The statement further said that the “genocidal policy” being pursued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is a major threat to international security.

It also urged a “handful of countries that unconditionally support Israel” to abandon their position against the law and human conscience.

Earlier, the Israeli army conducted a major military operation in the occupied northern West Bank, making the largest offensive in two decades.

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the operation, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry’s latest figures.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the army operation includes the “temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents" from areas in the northern West Bank.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,500, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 660 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.